Sitting at the end of my Comcast business internet service, I was interested to see that the president of Comcast, David Cohen, in a reverse “Let them eat cake” moment, doesn’t think consumers need gigabit broadband. In an opinion piece published in his home town paper, he thinks we’re overreaching.
For some, the discussion about the broadband Internet seems to begin and end on the issue of “gigabit” access. To be sure, a one-gig connection has value, especially for those who have invested in “inside” networks and equipment to handle that 1-gigabit firehose of data.
The issue with such speed is really more about demand than supply. Our business customers can already order 10-gig connections. Most websites can’t deliver content as fast as current networks move, and most U.S. homes have routers that can’t support the speed already available to the home. As consumer demand grows for faster speeds, a competitive marketplace of wired and wireless broadband providers will be ready to serve it.
Today there is a cottage industry of critics who always want to tell us that our broadband Internet is not fast enough or satisfactory for one reason or another. The reality is that the United States is leading the way in speed, reach, and access – and doing so in a vast, rural nation that poses logistical connectivity challenges unlike any other country.
The challenge we face now is how best to continue our broadband and Internet leadership.
The title of the piece is US the Leader On Broadband. Well sure, USA! USA! USA! Maybe if we say it enough, it will be true.
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